800 Security Cameras Added To State Capitol Complex

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) — State officials have added significant security upgrades at the State Capitol complex.

If you are anywhere on the complex, chances are, you’re under surveillance.

There are now hundreds of surveillance cameras in, on and around the State Capitol, including every government building on the Capitol Mall.

They’re not hidden, but you might not see the fish-hook devices unless you’re looking.

“On the complex, we don’t try to hide them,” said Chris Guevin, the director of the Minnesota Department of Administration. “We put them where they will give us the best angle for what we need to see.”

The Department of Administration says there are now 800 surveillance cameras on the 10-acre Capitol complex.

That’s roughly the same number of cameras operating in the entire Twin Cities traffic system.

The Capitol cameras are high-definition devices, capable of zooming in to ground level.

The cameras can monitor raucous Capitol protests, and everything else that happens on the state’s most visible frontyard.

There’s 100 percent coverage of sensitive locations, including the Judicial Building, according to the firm that designed the system.

The State Department of Public Safety declined a request to see the camera command center.

There are approximately 10,000 state employees who work on the State Capitol complex.

Thousands more visit the Capitol every week.

State officials say they have greatly enhanced security for everyone in the area.